Our Stories

The most daunting challenge facing our city today is not what to build, but what to restore.

The systems that created the divided American landscape continue to loom large.

A Conversation About The Art And Architecture Of Maintenance with Hilary Sample, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, and Caroline Bauer

Is crisis the only catalyst for change these days?

Our refusal to invest in maintenance is a symptom of a larger problem. As a culture we have lost faith in the long term.

Daniel McPhee speaks to Marisa Lago and Regina Myer about transforming Downtown Brooklyn into a thriving live-work neighborhood.

How can clever design and policy unlock urban home ownership for future generations?

In a moment of increased political complexity for immigrant communities in the United States, a certain type of response to protect and support immigrant communities better is also increasing: worker cooperatives.

In the form of a stabilized, community-based, shared living environment, CO-LIVE has the ability to positively address the housing challenges faced by immigrants upon their arrival, while effectively increase housing supply and choices.

How we use public space is personal. Where we decide to sit, play, and congregate, is largely driven by how a space makes us feel and whether we feel welcome. Creating inclusive public spaces means designing spaces that meet the needs of a variety of people.

Immigrant dispersion and suburbanization presents new challenges, as immigrants may be less likely to form critical masses for social support and political power, and small municipalities may be less capable to address immigrant needs.

In almost every locality, the arts are a means for new immigrants to express themselves in a way that is already familiar to them, in a new city that is far from home, and feel ownership, pride and a sense of agency.

Instead of asking what kind of future transportation technology will bring us, we should ask: what kind of city do we want?

We call for a (re) conceptualization of Complete Streets that humanizes “users” by acknowledging their difference and diversity.

Few tasks are as fraught as envisioning the future, but the history of urban technology promises that the changes of the digital age are likely to be both profound and complex.

Optimism, skepticism and cynicism on new technologies designed to make housing safer, sustainable and efficient.

A close read of Fifth Avenue in the Trump era and Mother Gaston Boulevard in Brownsville.

Two proposals: A preservation layer on Google Maps, and a psychosocial therapy that utilizes collective imagination in Brownsville

Three Forefront Fellows write on the current lack of public transit in Red Hook, Brooklyn and propose new ways for the City to utilize emerging technologies to improve neighborhood accessibility.

How can designers and planners influence residents in coastal regions to adopt new behaviors and technologies?

Three Forefront Fellows write on how technology is influencing the City's economic development agenda for Sunset Park.

Ken Greenberg argues cross-sector collaboration is essential as we re-invent our cities' economic bases, retool our infrastructure, expand our cultural sectors, and plan for an aging population.

William Fain offers lessons that Los Angeles can teach on urban living today. Despite its sprawling and suburban reputation, its brand of urbanism may be influencing cities around the world as much as its older, Eastern US counterparts.

Christopher Beardsley sat down with Kathryn Gustafson, Rob Rogers, Marion Weiss, and Skip Graffam to discuss their visions for renewing the National Mall.